Background musical recording soundtracks are extensively distributed by music publishers to be used for entertainment purposes wherein a singer then provides his vocal input along with the running background soundtrack. This is a standard practice with karaoke and even rap music background soundtracks, but it may also be used as background tracks by musicians who may wish to entertain by providing their “sit in” input against a background of a recorded jazz or country group. In the classical music milieu, a publisher may supply a continuos background soundtrack, against which students may wish to practice their individual instruments. By standard practice, the publishers do not sell their background tracks with mechanical rights, i.e. the licensing rights to use such background soundtracks for further recording. Such rights normally must be secured from the publisher; or, more likely, from providers that represent the publisher in licensing.
However, even if the background soundtrack may be licensed, one or more secondary tracks recorded as vocals or other secondary music may not be licensed.